1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power device package and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly, to a power device package, which can be made compact by mounting semiconductor chips in recesses formed in a substrate and can improve operational reliability by rapidly dissipating heat generated during operation to the outside, and a method of fabricating the power device package.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the power electronic industry using a power device, such as a power transistor, an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a MOS transistor, a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR), a power rectifier, a servo driver, a power regulator, an inverter, or a converter, has been developing, demands for lighter and smaller power products having better performance are increasing.
To meet the demands, smart power modules or intelligent power modules which can integrate not only various power semiconductor chips but also control semiconductor chips, such as integrated circuit chips, for controlling the power semiconductor chips, into one package, have been actively studied.
In general, power device packages have been fabricated by horizontally mounting a plurality of semiconductor chips on a die attach area of a substrate. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,399 assigned to Mitsubishi discloses a power device package in which power semiconductor chips and control semiconductor chips mounted on one lead frame are molded into one package.
However, since the power semiconductor chips and the control semiconductor chips are horizontally mounted on the lead frame facing a substrate, the sum of at least the thicknesses of the substrate, the lead frame, and the semiconductor chips makes up the total thickness of the power device package, thereby posing a limitation in increasing integration density.
Also, since power device packages generate heat during operation, it is desirable to rapidly dissipate the heat to the outside for reliable operation. Since the generated heat is generally discharged to the outside through a substrate, when a substrate, such as a ceramic substrate, having a low heat transfer coefficient, is used, the ability to transfer heat is limited.
Embodiments of the invention address the above problems, and other problems, individually and collectively.